The present invention relates in general to an above-ground swimming pool including a retaining wall and a plurality of supporting uprights and, more particularly, to the construction of a bracket adapted for simultaneously and conjointly attaching a pool liner to the retaining wall and interlocking with an adjacent supporting upright.
Prefabricated pools of the type employing a flexible plastic liner and a relatively rigid metal retaining wall supported by vertical posts have enjoyed substantial acceptance in producing above-ground pools for use by families and organizations at a considerable lower cost and with considerable greater ease than possible with concrete or other masonry pools which generally extend substantially below ground. Above-ground pools have become increasingly popular over the past years and are now available in a wide variety of depths, sizes and shapes, including round and partially round configurations. These above-ground pools have the advantage over concrete or other masonry pools by being readily disassembled, by being portable to new locations, by being easily maintained over their lifetime, and by being easily repaired when required.
According to known above-ground pool constructions, the retaining wall is supported by a plurality of vertical supporting uprights spaced about its periphery. A series of rail members are arranged end-to-end about the top of the retaining wall and supported by the supporting uprights. It is conventional to attach the rail members to the supporting uprights with connecting hardware, such as a rail joint member. The plastic pool liner is secured over the upper edge of the retaining wall by means of a channel-shaped coping member, which itself is secured by means of the rail member. These structural components, i.e., retaining wall, supporting uprights, pool liner, channel-shaped coping member, rail members and rail joint members can be arranged to provide above-ground pools of various shapes and sizes.
Above-ground pools of the aforementioned type are typically purchased and assembled by the home do-it-yourselfer to provide recreation and leisure during the summer months. It is therefore of prime concern to the manufacturer that the assembling of the miscellaneous components of the pool be made as easy as possible, without the need of any particular expertise or specialized training. Unfortunately, the assembling of these pools has been inherently complicated in attempting to secure the pool liner to the retaining wall and the retaining wall to the supporting uprights by means of the channel-shaped coping member, rail members and rail joint members. For example, it has been found to be rather difficult for the unskilled do-it-yourselfer to secure the pool liner to the retaining wall while attempting to secure the retaining wall to the supporting upright. As a consequence, damage to the plastic pool liner can occur, as well as totally frustrating the home do-it-yourselfer.
Known above-ground pool constructions have taken a variety of forms and configurations. For example, the reader's attention is directed to any one of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,268,917, 3,274,621, 3,518,705, 3,745,593, 3,785,099, 3,793,651 and 4,062,158. However, none of these pool constructions address the aforementioned problem associated with securing the plastic pool liner to the retaining wall and the retaining wall to the plurality of peripherally arranged supporting uprights.